Central Counties Air Operations Unit

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The Central Counties Air Operations Unit is a joint consortium established to provide police aviation for Staffordshire Police and West Mercia Police. [1] It operates a Eurocopter EC135 [1] from Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport in Bobbington, South Staffordshire. [2] The unit was closed by the National Police Air Service on 1 January 2016 in order to provide a "better service".

Police aviation in United Kingdom provides the British police with an aerial support unit to assist them in pursuit, surveillance and tracking. All police aviation in England and Wales comes under the National Police Air Service (NPAS), while Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland operate independent units.

Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of eleven Local Policing Teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authorities within Staffordshire.

West Mercia Police

West Mercia Police, formerly known as West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers 2,868 square miles (7,430 km2) making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales. The resident population of the area is 1.19 million. Its name comes from the ancient kingdom of Mercia.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Air Operations Unit". Website of Staffordshire Police. Staffordshire Police. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  2. "G-HEOI". UK Emergency Aviation. Retrieved 5 April 2011.